Japan warns of 'huge' earthquake after powerful tremor

TOKYO: Japan issued a special advisory on Monday warning of an increased risk of earthquakes at magnitude 8.0 or stronger, after a powerful jolt rattled the country’s north and prompted a tsunami warning.

A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan Monday, shaking large buildings in Tokyo hundreds of kilometres away and prompting a warning for tsunami waves of up to three metres (10 feet).

The Japan Meteorological Agency said in a statement that “the likelihood of a new, huge earthquake occurring is relatively higher than during normal times.”

Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

In 2024, the JMA issued its first special advisory of a possible “megaquake” along the Nankai Trough.

This 800-kilometre undersea trench is where the Philippine Sea oceanic tectonic plate is “subducting” — or slowly slipping — underneath the continental plate that Japan sits atop.

The government has said a quake in the Nankai Trough and subsequent tsunami could kill as many as 298,000 people and cause up to $2 trillion in damage.

The JMA lifted the 2024 advisory after a week, but it led to panic-buying of staples like rice and prompted holidaymakers to cancel hotel reservations.

It issued a week-long second “megaquake” advisory in December 2025 after a magnitude-7.5 tremor struck off the northern coast.

The December 8 quake triggered tsunami waves of up to 70 centimetres (28 inches) and injured more than 40 people, but no major damage was reported.